Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, reduced hippocampal subfield volumes, and word reading
Reading difficulties and exposure to air pollution are both disproportionately high among youth living in economically disadvantaged contexts. Critically, variance in reading skills in youth living in higher socioeconomic status (SES) contexts largely derives from genetic factors, whereas environmen...
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| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878929325000039 |
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| author | H. Yang JW. Cohen D. Pagliaccio B. Ramphal V. Rauh F. Perera BS. Peterson H. Andrews AG. Rundle J. Herbstman AE. Margolis |
| author_facet | H. Yang JW. Cohen D. Pagliaccio B. Ramphal V. Rauh F. Perera BS. Peterson H. Andrews AG. Rundle J. Herbstman AE. Margolis |
| author_sort | H. Yang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Reading difficulties and exposure to air pollution are both disproportionately high among youth living in economically disadvantaged contexts. Critically, variance in reading skills in youth living in higher socioeconomic status (SES) contexts largely derives from genetic factors, whereas environmental factors explain more of the variance in reading skills among youth living in lower SES contexts. Although reading research has focused closely on the psychosocial environment, little focus has been paid to the effects of the chemical environment. In this study, we measured prenatal exposure to a common air pollutant, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), via the presence (versus absence) of PAH-DNA adducts in maternal blood during the third trimester of pregnancy. We examined the impact of prenatal PAH exposure on adolescent hippocampal subfield volume and on word reading in a sample of youth followed prospectively since birth (N = 165). Compared to those without prenatal exposure, those with detectable PAH-DNA adducts (N = 63) exhibited significantly smaller hippocampal volumes (CA2/3 subfield, t = -2.413, p < .05), which was associated with worse pseudoword reading (t = 2.346, p < .05). Exploratory mediation analyses showed a significant effect of PAH on pseudoword reading through CA2/3 vol (p = .028), suggesting that prenatal PAH exposure affects hippocampal volume with downstream effects on reading ability. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f24d5415dd71489db6691aec70f4e4a9 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1878-9293 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj-art-f24d5415dd71489db6691aec70f4e4a92025-08-20T02:56:47ZengElsevierDevelopmental Cognitive Neuroscience1878-92932025-04-017210150810.1016/j.dcn.2025.101508Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, reduced hippocampal subfield volumes, and word readingH. Yang0JW. Cohen1D. Pagliaccio2B. Ramphal3V. Rauh4F. Perera5BS. Peterson6H. Andrews7AG. Rundle8J. Herbstman9AE. Margolis10Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment of Psychiatry, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, United States; The Child Mind Institute, New York, NY, United StatesDivision of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, United States; Department of Psychiatry, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, United StatesT.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United StatesDepartment of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, United StatesColumbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States; Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United StatesDepartment of Biostatistics, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, United StatesColumbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States; The Child Mind Institute, New York, NY, United States; Correspondence to: 240 Prior Hall, 376 W 10th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.Reading difficulties and exposure to air pollution are both disproportionately high among youth living in economically disadvantaged contexts. Critically, variance in reading skills in youth living in higher socioeconomic status (SES) contexts largely derives from genetic factors, whereas environmental factors explain more of the variance in reading skills among youth living in lower SES contexts. Although reading research has focused closely on the psychosocial environment, little focus has been paid to the effects of the chemical environment. In this study, we measured prenatal exposure to a common air pollutant, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), via the presence (versus absence) of PAH-DNA adducts in maternal blood during the third trimester of pregnancy. We examined the impact of prenatal PAH exposure on adolescent hippocampal subfield volume and on word reading in a sample of youth followed prospectively since birth (N = 165). Compared to those without prenatal exposure, those with detectable PAH-DNA adducts (N = 63) exhibited significantly smaller hippocampal volumes (CA2/3 subfield, t = -2.413, p < .05), which was associated with worse pseudoword reading (t = 2.346, p < .05). Exploratory mediation analyses showed a significant effect of PAH on pseudoword reading through CA2/3 vol (p = .028), suggesting that prenatal PAH exposure affects hippocampal volume with downstream effects on reading ability.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878929325000039Air pollutionBrain developmentEnvironmental exposureHippocampusReading performance |
| spellingShingle | H. Yang JW. Cohen D. Pagliaccio B. Ramphal V. Rauh F. Perera BS. Peterson H. Andrews AG. Rundle J. Herbstman AE. Margolis Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, reduced hippocampal subfield volumes, and word reading Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Air pollution Brain development Environmental exposure Hippocampus Reading performance |
| title | Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, reduced hippocampal subfield volumes, and word reading |
| title_full | Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, reduced hippocampal subfield volumes, and word reading |
| title_fullStr | Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, reduced hippocampal subfield volumes, and word reading |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, reduced hippocampal subfield volumes, and word reading |
| title_short | Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, reduced hippocampal subfield volumes, and word reading |
| title_sort | prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons reduced hippocampal subfield volumes and word reading |
| topic | Air pollution Brain development Environmental exposure Hippocampus Reading performance |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878929325000039 |
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